


The Conversation

by Vince_ible



Series: Happy Endings [2]
Category: Invincible (Image Comics)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-12-07 16:43:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20979104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vince_ible/pseuds/Vince_ible
Summary: Amanda talks to what's left of Rudy Conners and is validated in her decisions.Ficlet set between two scenes in #144.





	The Conversation

**Author's Note:**

> Short, smol scene from Monster Girl's POV.

**The Conversation**

* * *

Amanda couldn't sleep. Not after yesterday, and not after seeing The Boy.

At the time, everything else had felt more pressing. Most of her focus had been dedicated to the fight and Darkwing's subsequent return from the dead. In the hustle and bustle of it all, their little helper simply got lost in the background. Trying to sleep on yesterday's events had changed Amanda's perception on the matter considerably—ripened the small seed of anxiety, so to speak. It was like a stone had settled into the pit of her stomach, one that could only be dislodged by speech.

Usually she might confide in Monax, but somehow she already knew what he would say to her. Right now she needed a different perspective. She needed someone a little more cynical, but not overly so. Someone who knew her, and better yet, knew Viltrumites.

It all culminated around midnight, when she ended up outside a certain room in the Pentagon for a late-night visit. Not long ago she'd been in that same room, but never past the doorway, and only briefly before leaving. It was funny how things could change in a few hours.

"This isn't a social call," she snapped, striding inside. Just short of the tank she stopped, chin lifted and eyes flashing. Its green glow cast her skin in tones not unlike her monster form.

Occupying the tank was little more than a brain, suspended in fluid and surrounded by oxygen-rich bubbles. Though neither particularly large nor impressive, that single organ was capable of causing more harm, _and _good, than most men could ever hope to achieve. Amanda knew this all too well. She'd seen it with her own eyes.

There was no way to know if the brain had acknowledged her presence, no sound forthcoming from the speakers it communicated through.

Clearing her throat and addressing it again, Amanda announced, "I need your advice."

_"Amanda..."_ its voice filtered through the air, so much like the voice-boxes of its former constructs. Amanda stiffened, but continued with clasped hands.

"Invincible has a son."

Infuriatingly calm, Robot responded, _"I know. So does Immortal."_

"Of course you both do. Nobody tells _me_ anything. Point _is_, he's _here_. I thought all the Viltrumites had vamoosed."

_"Well, you were wrong. I was under the same impression, but I can't say I'm surprised that one or two got left behind."_ Contrasted with the cold, robotic tone of his auto-generated voice, Amanda detected a tenderness that made her shudder. She'd known him—_it_, for centuries. Even now she could read Robot like an open book.

"The last time there was a kid Viltrumite flying around in costume, things got..."

_"Bloody?"_ Robot finished for her when she stumbled. _"I saw the mission report, and from what I can tell, you don't need to worry."_

"_Yet_."

_"Your concerns are valid, but the Viltrumite is an_ invaluable _resource. Do _not_, compromise this."_

And just like that the tenderness was gone. In its place was a seriousness linked to an imagined sense of command and authority. For a moment, what remained of Rudy Conners had forgotten that it was nothing more than a brain in a tube, detached, helpless, pathetic. Amanda wondered what she'd hoped to get out of this conversation. How could she be so naive as to hope for his help, knowing the kind of person he was—_had _been?

Undaunted, Amanda drew herself up and spoke shortly. "You're wrong. He's not a resource. He's a child."

_A child who needs guidance_, her mind completed for her. _And _I'm_ going to give him that_.

There was a newfound resolve in Amanda's step when she turned on her heel. Although her doubts hadn't been assuaged, she knew what she had to do, what the _right _thing was to do. It was almost annoying to be interrupted by Robot's distant call. Clearly he'd caught his mistake, and now he was trying to make up for it. Instead of being helpful, it came across as pitiful. Fake, even. She was used to this, of him meekly clinging to every moment with her while it lasted.

_"Wait, Amanda, before you go-"_

Something flashed onto one of the screens, a mass of lines on multiple axes that didn't make much sense. There were high mountains and peaks all set in a seemingly random pattern. Amanda squinted at it, and upon a second glance realized it was a spectrogram. Robot had shown her a _sound_, illustrated in graph form. Despite her disgust, Amanda felt her curiosity pique.

"What is this?"

The slightest amount of satisfaction leaked into Robot's reply, discernible only from the slow pace of his words and the short pause beforehand.

_"If he ever gives you any trouble, use this..."_


End file.
